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Several sesquiterpene lactone were synthesized and their inhibitive activities on phospholipase A 2 (PLA 2 ) from Bothrops jararacussu venom were evaluated. Compounds Lac01 and Lac02 were efficient against PLA 2 edema-inducing, enzymatic and myotoxic activities and it reduces around 85% of myotoxicity and around 70% of edema-inducing activity. Lac05–Lac08 presented lower efficiency in inhibiting the biological activities studied and reduce the myotoxic and edema-inducing activities around only 15%. The enzymatic activity was significantly reduced. The values of inhibition constants ( K I ) for Lac01 and Lac02 were approximately 740 μM, and for compounds Lac05–Lac08 the inhibition constants were approximately 7.622–9.240 μM. The enzymatic kinetic studies show that the sesquiterpene lactones inhibit PLA 2 in a non-competitive manner. Some aspects of the structure–activity relationships (topologic, molecular and electronic parameters) were obtained using ab initio quantum calculations and analyzed by chemometric methods (HCA and PCA). The quantum chemistry calculations show that compounds with a higher capacity of inhibiting PLA 2 (Lac01–Lac04) present lower values of highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy and molecular volume (VOL) and bigger values of hydrophobicity (LogP). These results indicate some topologic aspects of the binding site of sesquiterpene lactone derivatives and PLA 2 .

Two basic myotoxic PLA(2)s, namely BnpTX-I and II, were isolated from Bothrops neuwiedi pauloensis snake venom through three chromatographic steps: ion-exchange chromatography on CM-Sepharose, gel filtration on Sephadex G-50 and reverse phase HPLC on a C18 column. Both PLA(2)s showed a M(r) around 14,000 for the monomer and 28,000 for the dimer (as estimated by SDS-PAGE), pI approximately 7.8 and approximately 121 amino acid residues cross-linked by seven disulfide bonds. The N-terminal sequences revealed significant homology with Asp49 basic myotoxic PLA(2)s from other snake venoms. The catalytic and anticoagulant activities of BnpTX-I were higher than those of BnpTX-II. Both were able to induce cytotoxicity in vitro, as well as, myotoxicity, edema and lethality in mice. BnpTX-I also induced neurotoxic effect on mouse neuromuscular preparations and bactericidal activity on Eschericia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. After chemical modification of BnpTX-I with BPB or incubation with EDTA or Mn(2+) ions, the catalytic activity was completely abolished, while the toxic and pharmacological activities were partially reduced. Interaction with heparin inhibited the cytotoxic and bactericidal effects. Anti-BthTX-I, anti-BthTX-II and anti-115-129-C terminal antibodies strongly recognize both BnpTX-I and II. It is shown that the neurotoxic effect induced by B. neuwiedi pauloensis venom is due to the presence of myotoxic PLA(2)s. The data also corroborate the hypothesis of a partial dissociation between toxic and enzymatic domains. In addition, BnpTX-I displays a heparin binding C-terminal region, which is probably responsible for the cytotoxic and bactericidal effects.